“What are the risks?” and “How many is too many?” are routine questions we come across when we’re contemplating something. Asking ourselves questions and hesitating before making decisions is human nature. However, when paired with ideas about forgoing vaccination, it can have a dangerous effect on the health of the population.
Earlier this year, a company called Vaccine Choice Canada set up several billboards urging Canadian citizens to “educate before [they] vaccinate.” They deny being anti-vaxxers, purporting themselves to be “vaccine risk aware” of current health policies. The campaign was supposed to run for two weeks, but was cut short after a week following a public outcry.
Among Vaccine Choice Canada’s philosophy is that parents should decide whether or not their child should get vaccinated solely based on their “higher wisdom” and “internal warning bells”. They remind parents that unvaccinated students can still attend school, and blame autism, ADHD, and even obesity on vaccines, despite the fact that this claim has been proven wrong multiple times over. They may deny being anti-vaxxers, but their actions fall nothing short of fear-mongering in our communities.
To illustrate how big of an issue this is, the World Health Organization (WHO) lists vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten threats to global health (in 2019), alongside air pollution, HIV, weak primary healthcare, and others. Vaccines are an immensely effective solution to easily avoidable diseases, preventing 2-3 million deaths every year. According to the WHO, they have nearly abolished diseases such as Meningitis A in Africa, measles in the Americas, and polio in Southeast Asia. Vaccines also provide a defense against the misuse of antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria. In short, vaccines are vital for our safety, the health of the community, and global development. So why are anti-vaxxer ideologies still so persistent? And what are the consequences of such sentiments?
One of the most widespread beliefs is that vaccine causes autism, among other disorders – despite multiple studies debunking those claims. Others believe that dangerous toxins exist in vaccines, and it is a parental right to withdraw from vaccination, which is what Vaccine Choice Canada supports. Some just believe vaccines are a way for pharmaceutical companies to make a profit (which is also not true, as vaccines make up a very small percentage of healthcare revenue, at least in the US).
One of the reasons for this widespread vaccine hesitancy is how information, and more specifically medical information, is accessed today: through the Internet. In fact, 72% of adults in the U.S. who use the Internet have looked online for health-related information in 2013. It’s something many of us are guilty of because it is so much easier to Google our symptoms and self-diagnose than make the trip to the doctor’s office, which will take up time and money.
This increased presence of vaccine hesitancy is primarily due to the fact that it’s much easier to access anti-vaccine information from organizations like Vaccine Choice Canada, and straight up false facts posted social media. Also, people are more likely to be persuaded by online information that is “perceived to be credible” compared to traditional media, and even a few minutes on these websites can significantly reduce the likelihood that they will vaccinate.
The most recent outbreak of measles in Canada occurred in Vancouver, BC, where 13 people so far have been diagnosed. In the U.S. thus far, there have already been 555 reported cases of measles in 2019 alone. Usually, measles are brought into the country by travellers coming from abroad and typically is not an issue if under-immunization weren’t a problem. The disease usually doesn’t spread very far, but “pockets” of under-immunized communities can cause these types of outbreaks. Here in Canada, measles was supposedly eradicated in 1998, but these outbreaks, however small, showcase the dangerous ramifications that vaccine hesitancy can cause in our own communities.
So, how should we deal with vaccine hesitancy? Countering arguments with credible information may seem like the right direction, and in most cases is the first step we should take. What we could also do, more importantly, is decrease access to anti-vax resources as has been implemented by popular social media platforms. For example, Facebook has stopped recommending content regarding misinformation about vaccines, while Pinterest has banned searches about anti-vaccination altogether.
Advocacy and education from health care professionals is vital, but community engagement is another way to counteract vaccine hesitancy. Former anti-vaxxers have stated that meaningful interactions changed their mindset, especially with those who they shared a personal connection with. For example, mothers sharing stories online about how and why they decided to vaccinate their children and empathizing with one another can help to encourage other mothers to do the same.
On a larger scale, creating a sense of responsibility within the community is also important. When we go outside to socialize, and when we send children to school to receive their education, we have a collective responsibility to create the safest environment we can to protect not only ourselves but other people from harm. We wear seat belts, follow the rules of the road, clean snow and ice off of our driveways and sidewalks, so why shouldn’t our accountability towards public safety by vaccinating ourselves be the same? Why shouldn’t we hold ourselves accountable for the well-being of our community?
By Jareeat Purnava
Please note that opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
